Editing Youth
by Ireni L'Elffe de la Glace
Summary: What if somebody in Konoha wanted to "fix" everybody else? What if that person found something "incorrect" with EVERYONE? And what if that same certain person decided they wanted to do it to a certain bushy-browed green-suited ninja boy?
1. Eyebrows

Disclaimer: _Naruto_ Belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me. If it belonged to me, it wouldn't be called _Naruto_ anymore. It would be _Rock Lee_.

_Chapter One_

_So much to do…gotta treat Choji for indigestion, Kurenai for labor problems, three Jonin with broken limbs…so much to do, so little time…_ Sakura Haruno scurried quickly towards the Hidden Leaf Hospital, silently cursing herself for sleeping late. The sun was peaking the sky, and the Kunoichi sped up. It was one thing to show up late for work, but it was something entirely different where your boss was Tsunade.

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura Haruno turned at the familiar voice of Rock Lee, self-proclaimed Handsome Devil of the Leaf Village. He was dressed in his customary attire of green spandex and orange leg warmers. As usual, Sakura smiled and waved at him, not particularly wanting to get into another discussion about whether or not she would be his girlfriend-especially when she was so late already. However, Lee moved in and Sakura braced herself for yet another grueling rant about youth.

"Hello Lee," Sakura said in a friendly tone, "how's your day going?"

Lee grabbed Sakura by the arms, and for the first time she realized that there was something other than childish obsession in his eyes. "Sakura-san…you must come to help!" The wind lowing made his hair float gently, and his big eyes were sparkling with a pitiful look of urgency.

Sakura blinked in question, and Lee began to drag her off towards the forest. Sakura allowed herself to be towed, wondering what could make such a hot-blooded person look so helpless.

"G-Guy Sensei…" Lee said in a hurt voice, "H-he…needs help." They were very close to the training field now, and Sakura was a bit worried. Had Guy Sensei gotten hurt? A moan was audible, and Sakura felt anxiety bubble in her stomach. The two picked up their pace as they got closer to the clearing.

Once the trees had thinned out, and the training field was right before them, Sakura saw a green body sitting in a fetal position right next to a practice dummy. Loud sobs filled the air, and Sakura ran over to him to inspect his wounds. As she approached, Guy held a hand out behind him tas a halt, not turning to meet her gaze. Being a medic nin, Sakura proceeded anyway.

"Don't look at me…" came the plea from the wad of green and orange that had once been the proud and "youthful" Might Guy. Sakura reached her hand forwards, prepared for the worst. She touched his shoulder, and pulled him gently back. His head snapped around on reflex at the contact, and Sakura gasped. What she saw before her was…well…something she would never have thought she would ever see in her entire life. It was both terrifying, and awe inspiring.

"M-My youth...it's gone….." Guy sobbed.

Lee had his eyebrows arched in a piteous expression, and Sakura was staring wide-eyed and disbelieving. Her jaw was practically touching the ground.

Somebody had shaved Guy's eyebrows down to normal size.

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><p>Sakura walked away; half angry that she had wasted her time for such a pointless situation. She had left Guy still wallowing in self-pity with Lee attempting to comfort him and was heading back to the hospital; back to the place where she could treat people with <em>real <em>problems.

"Sakura!" Lee was running after her, and Sakura sighed. She turned around, half-reluctant to have to speak with him again, and gave her best effort of a friendly face. "Sakura-san…I apologize for wasting your precious time. I realize that my sensei's "problem" might not have been worth your coming, but I was worried about him due to his intense reaction."

Sakura sighed audibly and smiled lying through her teeth, "It's fine, Lee. I was in no big hurry. Anyway, how _did _that happen?"

Lee made a confused expression, "I...I do not know. He came to train with me this morning, as he always does, and I pointed it out. He ran to the stream, and when he saw his reflection…well…"

"Then, you don't know who did it?" Sakura asked, her curiosity still burning. Lee scratched the back of his head.

"I do not know…I am sorry."

Sakura smiled, disappointed that she still didn't know, and said goodbye to Lee. "I have to go to see Tsunade-sama now, but if you ever need any more help," Sakura inwardly slapped herself for adding, "you know where to find me."

Lee grinned, letting his teeth gleam and replied, "Thank you Sakura-san! I greatly appreciate your help!"

And with that, the green-clad ninja ran away into the sunset (ironically), and Sakura trudged off to the Hidden Leaf Hospital, now more exhausted than she had ever been.

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><p>*****This is my first story, and I'm sorry it's so short so far! If I get (any) reviews, I'll continue...Heck, I'll continue anyway. Also, I MIGHT put some couplings in her. I'm still deciding. Errr...this is a stupid commentary. Oh well, Rock Lee is amazing, and I'm hoping this will get interesting (?) Oh well, bye!<p> 


	2. Don't Touch the Pworns!

_Chapter Two_

The good news was that Sakura had managed to get away with only a few broken ribs when Tsunade found out that she had been late for work. They were mended almost immediately, of course, but Sakura still felt very sore.

The incident from the day before with Guy's ominously missing eyebrows had been vaguely on the Konoha Kunoichi's mind, but it hadn't exactly made her panic. It was common for a few pranks to be played around the village now and again, especially before Naruto had graduated from the academy, and Sakura shrugged the shaving off as so.

The morning was still, and Sakura grinned at herself silently for her ability to wake up early enough to make up for the day before. She would actually show up _before _everyone else. In fact, she would be so early that she might even arrive before Tsunade. Sakura silently fantasized in her head about how the Hokage would show up at her usual time for inspections, and see Sakura waiting patiently for her mentor to arrive.

In fact, Sakura was still deep in thought when she heard the scream. It was a very familiar sound, and she knew instantly where it had come from. Sakura turned tersely and stared right into the face of her old sensei, Kakashi Hatake.

"Um…Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura asked hesitantly, "what's going on?"

Kakashi's eye was flashing wildly back and forth, and his normally cool demeanor was lost. He had one hand in his hair, grasping tightly onto the white-gray follicles, and the other twitching nervously at his side.

"Wh-where is it…could this be somebody's idea of a joke?..." His voice was raspy and hysterical, and Sakura was quite disturbed. She took a step gingerly towards the panicking Shinobi, but stopped since she had no idea what was wrong with him. "Mission…can't go on mission without it…"

"Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura chirped a bit louder, getting both annoyed and anxious. This time, Kakashi looked at his former pupil, and moved closer. His eye was wild, and it contained a somewhat hungry look.

"You…you must have it…you never liked it…you were always so quick to _judge…" _Kakashi growled in a voice as ungodly as Sakura ever hoped to hear.

"What the heck are you talking about? Get a hold of yourself!" Sakura snapped. Kakashi blinked twice, and moaned.

"M…my…" he said in a low voice of longing. Sakura leaned in, eager to hear what had make her sensei go into such a craze. "My copy of the Make-out series was stolen!" He cried in a very uncharacteristic way. Sakura could only stare.

_Okay…I'm going to be late for work again…I'm going to get the crud beaten out of my body…I'm going to feel the heated wrath of the most frightening woman to ever exist…AND IT'S BECAUSE HIS FREAKING PORN WAS STOLEN!_

Sakura turned away from her destroyed superior, and stomped off to work. Her face was red with anger, and she couldn't stand for anymore little "problems" to occur. First, Guy's eyebrows had been shaven off, and now Kakashi's stupid, dirty little books had been stolen. What was next?

"I can't…go on…"

This time, Sakura was caught truly off-guard. She turned on heel at the voice, and stared down at the ground in utter disbelief.

"T-Tsunade-sama?" Sakura breathed.

"Somebody…took…my Sake…" the Hokage groaned.

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><p>*****Okay...so I actually made a second chapter heehee. Truthfully, I might not have done this if wingedmercury hadn't reviewed. No, I'm not obsessed with reviews, I'm just very...Shikamaru-ish if you catch my drift haha. So yes, this chapter is shorter...and I also used one of my only reveiwers ideas for it (I loved it! I really did! So much fun to be had with stealing the pworn of a Kakashi!) So, love ya again wingedmercury and...yep...hahaha.<p> 


	3. The Hyper Genius: Sakura's Decision

Chapter Three

Sakura couldn't believe what was going on. In the past week, she had already witnessed at least three dozen _more _of the unnatural "alterations" to her fellow Konoha villagers, and they seemed to be happening more and more frequently. Shino's shampoo had been replaced by bug repellant. Naruto's baggy, orange jumpsuit had been replaced with more…_traditional _ninja attire. Choji had…well…let's just say nobody could find him for about two days, and when he finally turned up, he was falling out of a closet dying from malnutrition. Thankfully, it only took about two hours to get him back to normal.

Exhaustion swept over the young Leaf Kunoichi as she slid down the wall onto the cold floor of the Konoha Hospital. She had been worked nonstop with the odd cases coming in and she had had just about enough with the creep who'd caused them all.

Sakura looked up at the clock on the wall and found that it was actually time to leave, so she graciously tumbled out the front door and into the fresh evening. Crickets christened the air with their melodic tunes, and Sakura felt rejuvenated by the calm, cool air against her face-

"_**Hey Sakura! What's going on? I'm fine, actually better than fine! I feel great actually. Wanna go get food or something? I'm kinda hungry! Maybe we could go run laps around the village or something! That would be very refreshing, doncha think? Huh? Huh? Hey Sakura, hear me? Oh maybe you're just tired. I'm not! I've felt incredible ever since that nice stranger man gave me that odd brown-ish drink. That was sure nice, I should have thanked him…"**_

__Sakura felt a shiver explode down her back as she stared into the face of Shikamaru Nara. He swayed on his feet, and bounced up and down with a huge grin on his face. His hands were trembling violently as a result of the obvious caffeine. The Kunoichi's fists clenched.

"I have to go," she muttered through clenched teeth. The hyper Shikamaru simply continued chatting excitedly though nobody was there, and Sakura stomped off.

There are a lot of things people can get away with. You can shave a man's eyebrows. You can steal an obnoxiously colored jumpsuit. You can even starve a pudgy kid almost to death. But when you make the official lazy genius of Konoha get hyper, you know you've gone too far.

Sakura knew where she had to go. If there was truly a person in Konoha who wanted to change everybody in the village, she would need help. And she would need it from somebody who was yet to be "fixed".

_Knock Knock Knock_

"S-Sakura-chan!" Lee stuttered as he opened his door to find the love of his life fuming in front of his face. Sakura barged in, to angry and tired for manners. Luckily Lee wasn't the type to care and he followed after her.

Once they had arrived at a randomly selected point in the green clad ninja's apartment, Sakura swerved around to talk.

"Lee, I need your help."

Lee's face flushed red and his (already huge) eyes widened in astonishment at her words. "What do you required, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura glanced around, as if checking for spies. "You know how weird things have been happening around the village? Things that seem to be some sick person's idea of a joke? Like Guy-Sensei's…eyebrow incident," Lee nodded viciously, "I'm going to find out who it is, and stop them in the most violent way possible."

Lee's lip dropped slightly open, as if wondering something. He spoke in a near quiet voice, "why did you come to me? Why not Naruto or even Neji?"

Sakura smiled slightly as she spoke the next words, "Because, Lee, we're going to use you for live bait." And Lee's jaw literally dropped.


	4. The Plan

_Chapter Four_

"Um…bait?" Lee's face was that of a deer trapped in the headlights of a car. His eyes were wide, and his lip twitched slightly. It was utterly pitiful.

"Yes Lee, bait. You see, the way I see it, there's a person running around trying to change people in ways that they think are for the better. They shaved off Guy sensei's eyebrows, and let's face it, yours are very similar in size. So wouldn't it stand to reason that whoever is doing this would want to shave off your eyebrows too?" Sakura tried to explain her plan, but before she finished Lee slapped his hand over his forehead in an attempt to protect his eyebrows.

"S-Sakura-chan!" Lee whimpered, "I-I do not want for my eyebrows to be shaven off!"

"Don't worry about that, Lee!" Sakura comforted, "I won't let them get you, I'm going to set up a trap! We're going to catch this person before it's too late." Lee pursed his lower lip in a determined expression and nodded brusquely.

The weird thing was, even if his very life were being threatened, Lee wouldn't have hesitated for a second. Why would he care so much about two over-sized bushes of hair above his eyes?

* * *

><p>"Okay Lee, perfect!" Sakura cheered. Lee was standing on top of the Hokage mansion holding an enormous sign above his head. His face still had a look of insecurity about it, but he was doing a fairly good job about hiding it.<p>

Sakura read the sign over once more, trying to decide if she liked the wording (though obviously it was too late now if she didn't). It said: _I am the student of Might Guy: Rock Lee! My eyebrows we rivaled only by my sensei, and now I am a proud and imperfect Shinobi! Youth!_

Sakura gritted her teeth. It seemed, just the _smallest little bit_, suspicious…But there was nothing to do now. She hoped that, whoever the perpetrator was, they would be oblivious enough to overlook the obviousness of the trap that had been laid out.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile sitting outside of Ichiraku, a figure slurped on a bowl of Ramen. They had a hood on, so nobody knew exactly who he or she was, but the figure noticed something off a bit in the distance. It was something that reminded them of something that they needed to do, not that they had forgotten, and so the figure put down the bowl of Ramen and ran off.<p>

* * *

><p>Sakura shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She and Lee had been waiting at least a half an hour now, and there was no sign of the person. Lee had decided to use the time to do 1,000,000 push-ups, but Sakura, not being quite as "youthful" as Lee, had nothing to do. Until she saw a black hooded figure dart past her hiding place with a sense of voracity about it.<p>

Fumbling on her feet from the suddenness of the event, Sakura silently followed. She knew where the person was going, and she was ready to stop them. She had promised Lee, and there was no way on _Earth _that she wanted to see anything as horrifying as a caffeine-jacked Shikamaru again.

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><p><em>*****Oooh, thats a lot of lines for one chapter...<em>

Oh sorry! Zoned out for a second! Okay I'm reeaalllyyy sorry about late update. My last few weeks have been _packed! _Absolutely no freetime at all. Luckily, I found this open slot of about 20 minutes to finish this chapter! But for one more week (bear with me) I'm going to be very busy. After that (and by that I mean next monday 11-7-2011) I will be FREE! Free to update much more quickly! Anyway, enough of this rant, hope you enjoyed the chapter, please reveiw, and thanks to my one faithful reveiwer once again, wingedmercury, and to the people who favorited and stuff! *takes deep breath* kay bye guys!


	5. Confrontation

Hey guys, I'm back! No, I haven't ditched this story, I've just been really busy. I decided to warn you beforehand that this chapter in particular is pretty serious. I didn't intend to make it like this, but it will help with the progression of the story, so bear with me. I promise I'll tell you about some more of the rediculous editations in the next chapter, which I will _really _try to write soon. For the time being, just bear with me! Love you all!_  
><em>

_Chapter Five_

It wasn't difficult to follow the person, being a ninja. The thing that was difficult was trying to get a glimpse of their face. As the race went on, Sakura tried to discretely move ahead of the figure to see who it was. She got as close as she dared and still wasn't able to see beyond the cloak, which frustrated the pink-haired Kunoichi very much.

As they grew closer and closer to the mansion, Sakura became more desperate. She had promised Lee that she wouldn't let the person shave his eyebrows, and if she couldn't discover who this person was, she would be at a serious disadvantage.

Suddenly a memory struck Sakura in the head. It was of the first day she had met Lee.

"Please be my girlfriend!" He had cried energetically, "I vow to protect you with my life!" She remembered how she shrugged it off, and how very soon after Lee had gotten injured protecting her from Sound ninja. Sakura hadn't known Lee back then; she had judged him by his appearance alone. Deep in the pit of her…well…whatever it is that Sakura has in her chest that pumps her blood, she knew that it was her turn to repay the favor.

Less than fifty feet away from Lee's standing place, Sakura charged.

"_Chaaaa!" _she screamed and punched the figure. Caught off-guard, they were unable to block and went flying to the left. Sakura watched in happiness as the figure smashed into a tree and fell on their face. She dropped down to inspect, and moved towards the limp body on the ground. Her fist thought was that she had knocked them out, but then there was a puff of smoke and it was gone.

"A clone?" Sakura yelped and turned to see a fist flying towards her face. She ducked and kicked the feet out from under the person, who jumped to dodge it.

* * *

><p>Lee watched from on top of the Hokage mansion in wonder. He had seen both of them headed towards him at full speed, and shot Sakura a nice-guy pose when she punched the figure. Now he was watching them with increasing interest. Their high-speed movements were captivating and…very familiar. He was sure he had seen this exact fight before. Perhaps not as advanced, but the movements of both ninja seemed very familiar.<p>

Lee put down the sign. He had been holding it to bring the Editor-his dubbed name for the person who had been causing so much mischief-over to him, but now that Sakura had them in combat, he figured he could put it down.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee cried suddenly into the air, "I will not let you fight this alone!" Lee leapt down to the brawl and used his Leaf whirlwind to attack the Editor. Not expecting and attack from behind, he/she hit the ground with a cry. Sakura cracked her knuckles in happiness, looking down at the helpless figure on the ground. In a split second, however, the person made a hand sign and whispered something incoherent. Lee readied himself in case something exploded or anything, but nothing happened. The figure sat on the ground perfectly still, and Lee and Sakura looked down at them in confusion. After a moment of silence, Lee spoke.

"Okay, Sakura-chan! Let us see who this mysterious Editor is!" As Lee spoke, he began to lean down, but a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"No, Lee-wait. Isn't there something more important than just seeing who this person is?" Sakura said in an uncharacteristically flirty voice. Her eyes grew big, and she grabbed his hand. Lee's heart was pounding in excitement in wonder at what would happen. Then, Sakura pulled him close to her face and kissed him.

* * *

><p>In that moment, there were a lot of things that Lee didn't notice. A squirrel ran up a tree holding a very interesting looking nut. A shooting star flew across the sky in an array of light. A tree two buildings over fell over after standing for eighty years. But the two most important things Lee missed were this: the fact that Sakura's face was scrunched up in utter disgust, and the fact that the second they let go, the figure disappeared.<p>

"I…I…" Lee was at a loss of words. Luckily it didn't matter. Sakura passed out and fell onto the ground, leaving Lee to carry her to the hospital.

* * *

><p>*****Okay, okay I know what you're all thinking: I am <em>not <em>going to randomly turn this into a SakuraXLee fanfic (well, unless some people specifically tell me to, but its not my plan). This is the only time I'm gonna hint at any of that, so if you're a hater, go ahead and hate :)


	6. The Mob

_Chapter Six_

Sakura opened her eyes and saw a very familiar ceiling. It was white, and had cracked paint in certain areas. Yes, it was the ceiling of one of the rooms in the Konoha Hospitals…but what an odd angle to see it at.

In a flash, Sakura sat up in bed and looked around. A million thoughts rushed into her head at once: Why am I in the hospital? What happened? Who was the person? What happened to Lee? And…why is there a seven and a half foot tall pile of roses beside my bed?

Sakura looked up and down at the painfully red mountain of flowers that practically towered over her. They all looked fresh, so they had been picked relatively recently. The Kunoichi slid out of her covers and walked closer to them, trying to find out who had given them to her. Then, a huge crash was heard and Lee exploded into the room, his arms overflowing with identical crimson flora.

Sakura inhaled and exhaled deeply trying to remain calm, "Lee…what are you doing?"

"Sakura-chan!" Lee cried in utter delight, "Please forgive me! I promised that I would bring you ten feet of flowers before you woke up or I would do ten thousand push-ups, but this pile is hardly over seven! I must do push-ups!" Lee fell to the floor and began to thrust his body up and down while counting.

"L-Lee…please stop…could you please s-WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT!" Sakura screamed. Lee jumped up from the ground, eyes wide.

"I…I am very sorry my dear cherry blossom! Please forgive me, me sweet angel…" He pleaded. Sakura thought that he seemed more annoyingly clingy than before. What had happened between them?

"Lee…what exactly happened that night? You know, when the person we were fighting fell down?" Sakura asked slowly and suspiciously.

Lee grinned and blushed, "well, um…you…" He trailed off and looked at the ground.

"I…what Lee?" Sakura said, eyes knitted into a slightly agitated expression.

"Do you not remember? Sakura-chan…you k…you kissed me," Lee said in an oddly low-volume voice. Sakura's face turned red, "_What?" _she screamed.

The pink-haired Kunoichi stormed out of the room, leaving poor Lee to wonder what he had done. Sakura knew the hospital like the back of her hand; she exited the front door in twenty seconds flat and looked around. The streets were dead silent. No citizens were anywhere to be seen.

Sakura chose a direction and began walking down it, looking for any signs of life. All the shops were closed, and the lights in the buildings were all off. It was midday and the sun was high in the sky, and Sakura knew that it wasn't a holiday. What was going on?

Suddenly, there was a scratch against the earth behind her and she turned to see a small girl running away as quickly as her short legs could carry her.

"Wait! Come back!" Sakura caught up to the girl in two strides and stopped her. She turned her around, and looked at her face.

"Why are you running? Where is everybody?" Sakura asked. The little girl teared up a bit and sniffed.

"I…I didn't want to g-go…" she sobbed, "M-mommy said that th-they were going to find the one who did all the stuff…"

Sakura was puzzled, "What? Who are they going to find?"

The little girl looked at the ground, "_Her. _Nobody kn-knows what she looks like. She's always in a black hood, and she's _changing_ people…"

Sakura let the girl go and stood up straight. "Do you know where they went?" she growled.

"I think all the villagers were supposed to gather next to the Hokage's mansion…" the little girl sniffed while trudging away.

"Thank you!" Sakura cried, and turned in the direction of the mansion. Then, she sprinted off, desperate to discover the end to the mystery.

* * *

><p>"Does anybody have <em>any <em>clues?" The Hokage sputtered. Her eyes were darting back and forth, and she had severe shivers. She hadn't had any Sake in over a week. Only a few people in the large group raised their hands.

"I think it's the _Akatsuki!" _yelled Kiba.

"Yea, the Akatsuki is going to show up and put a shock collar around your neck-it's obviously somebody from the village," retorted Neji snidely.

"I just wonder how they can get away with it so easily," shouted Ino, "I mean they obviously have to be very skilled if they haven't been caught _yet."_

"That's true but…" Kakashi commented, "_I need my book baaaccckkk!"_

"Calm down everybody!" Shizune cried. She was standing right next to Lady Tsunade, trying to help her cope with her drinking dilemma. The villagers calmed down and Tsunade stood up shakily.

"It could be any. Of. Y_ou._" The Hokage yelled in a slurred tone, "I don't trust any of ya…" Then she plopped back down in her chair.

Sakura stood at the back of the audience and was shocked to hear her mentor talk like that.

"Well you know what _I _think we should do? Huh? Yah wanna know? Do ya? Well, I think we should hire, like, a _giant _army of bunnies, and have them…" Shikamaru leapt up and down as he told of his plan.

"Be quiet, nobody wants to hear about your stupid plan…" Hinata growled at him. Sakura's jaw dropped, how could Hinata be talking in such a low tone of voice? It had to be the work of the Editor.

"I'm soooo hungry!" Choji sobbed, his stomach little more than two inches wide. Shikamaru bounced over to him and began singing a song about food, which made Choji cry.

"Does anyone even care about me? Huh? Look at my _hair!" _Tenten cried. Her hair was long and flowing and…well…it looked about 100% better than it had in the buns. "And they took _all _of my weapons! _How do I fight without weapons?" _

"Shut _up!" _Tsunade screamed, "We have it under control. Since none of us are really fit to fight right now, we've asked for help from the Sand Village. Kazekage Gaara is sending his brother and sister over to help us out and…" The Hokage trailed off as she spotted something in the distance.

Sakura swerved around and gasped in surprise when she saw the Kazekage himself along with Kankuro and Temari step towards the crowd. "We heard there was trouble…" Gaara said simply.

* * *

><p>*****oh ho ho hoooo! Bet you didn't expect <em>two <em>chapters tonight :D! Well, I figured I owed you guys something since I've been such a bad person these past weeks...(whats it been, three _weeks _since i last posted?). So anyway, here! I tried to fill in as much as I could about the horrible things that went on while Sakura was in the hospital. And don't worry, Lee won't be _too _heartbroken :P, I love him too much for that. Also, I put a little treat in for you Gaara fans out there...and...forKankurofanssuchasmyself...cough...OH, and Temari...yeah...well, hope this chapter wasnt too much of a drag, have fun! I'll update as soon as I can.


	7. Lee Knows

_Chapter Seven_

Lee walked out of the hospital, wondering where Sakura had gone. When she had left before, his initial thought was that she had been mad about the kiss…but he had put that idea aside quickly enough. _Why would _she _be mad if _she _had done it? _He thought, laughing at his own foolishness. No, there had to be another reason for her storming out.

Lee hardly noticed the entirely unoccupied streets, and moved towards the Hokage Mansion-after all, Sakura _was _her pupil, and she could very well just be visiting with Tsunade-sama.

But as Lee grew closer, he began to realize that he could hear noises. Loud, cheering and complaining voices rose and fell like a wave pool. Out of curiosity, Lee sped up and was there in less than three seconds, on the roof of a building. He was dumfounded by the immense size of the audience, and quickly realized that it must be everybody in Konoha.

Then, another group caught his sight. Making their way through the crowd were Gaara, Kankuro, Temari and Sakura. Lee grinned happily at the sight of his cherry blossom, and jumped down towards her; he was eager to be near her again.

* * *

><p>"Move out of the way!" Sakura screamed, and people scattered to make way for the Kazekage and his siblings. Gaara was striding up in that cool way he has, not noticing any of the stares from the citizens of Konoha. Kankuro and Temari looked around a bit more, interested. Sakura simply shoved a path through the people.<p>

"Ah, Kazekage Gaara. So glad that you decided to come," Tsunade said in a rather drunk voice. Sakura hadn't expected her to act _more _so _after _losing her sake.

"Well, I received a message that our allies in the Leaf were in trouble; I figured if it was _that _bad I should come as well…" He replied, looking around in question, "So…what _is _the trouble?"

Everyone started talking at once, but the loudest was Shikamaru who hopped up and down screaming, "TOMATTOOOOOO! TOOOOMMMMAAATTTTTTTOOOOO!"

"…..Tomato?" Gaara inquired. Sakura hushed the citizens with one of her famous death glares.

"Ignore him. Our real problem is…well…" Tsunade struggled for a way to explain it, "We have somebody among us, we don't know if they're from the Leaf or not, who has been going around performing dangerous and irritating 'changes' on people. We need some help to stop it since most of us have already been affected, and it's next to impossible to work," Tsunade specifically looked at the bubbling Shikamaru while saying the last part.

"I see…so somebody had been going around and changing people?" Gaara summed up, and the Hokage nodded grimly, "I think I can be of assistance…We'll have to-"

"_Sakura-swaaaan!" _

A green-suited figure suddenly bounded down and attacked Sakura from behind…in a hug. He grabbed her so suddenly and tightly, that out of reflex Sakura sent him flying into the Mansion. The pink-haired Kunoichi then spun around in horror, "L-Lee?"

Rock Lee emerged from the rubble that she had created, apparently unscathed. "Sakura! I have been looking everywhere for you!" he cried, youthful tears running down his face.

"Lee! W-what are you _doing?" _Sakura cried, horrified. Everyone was staring, and Gaara had been cut off.

"But, Sakura-chan! I needed to know; why did you leave me like that?" Lee asked anxiously.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but closed it in thought. She then lowered her head slightly and replied in a lowered voice, "Lee…I'm sorry but I wasn't in _control _when I kissed you…there was some kind of jutsu that the Editor cast before…and I don't know…"

Lee's face turned red, and his happy tears mysteriously morphed into sad tears. He looked like he was trying to remember the night.

"I'm really sorry, Lee," Sakura stated, and gave him a comforting hug.

"That is okay, Sakura. It was my own foolishness that caused this but…I think I know who the Editor _is." _

It took Sakura three seconds to comprehend Lee's last words. He turned towards the crowd, and began to speak.

"Everybody, when I watched Sakura and the mysterious person fighting, I knew I had seen it before. The jutsu's, the movement, it all looked familiar! Sakura has just confessed my last important piece of evidence, and that is why I believe that the Editor is-"

But Lee didn't have time to finish talking. A second before he could say the name, a dart flew at his neck. Lee quickly blocked with his right arm, but it was no good. Sakura looked horrified as Lee fell to the ground, quivering from the fast-acting poison inside the dart.

"Lee!" Sakura cried, running towards her friend.

"It…is…" Lee tried to say, but couldn't get it out. His eyes looked up at Sakura, trying to get her to understand, but in a minute he was out cold.

Sakura pulled the dart out and inspected it. Being around such drugs all day, she could smell the poison and instantly knew what it was. Lee would be out for weeks, if not months. It was a coma-inducing poison.

Sakura stood up and looked at the audience. Her face was red in anger, and her eyes were tearing up. She could stand for a lot of things (hyper Shikamaru not being on that list, for he was at that moment rolling in a flower garden), but one thing she _couldn't _stand for was somebody injuring a good friend of hers.

"Who…threw…that…dart…" She cried out through clenched teeth. Everybody started looking around, but nobody had any clue. Sakura growled angrily, and turned her back on them. "Sorry for interrupting you, Gaara-sama, please continue," she said in a very nasty voice and walked to stand next to her sensei.

"Um…alright," Gaara replied, still a bit shaken from the sudden dart that flew not three feet away from him, "I have a plan, and after seeing what I just saw, I believe we'll have to put it into effect very soon. However…" The Kazekage scanned he audience, "I think I should tell Hokage-sama in private."

Tsunade nodded brusquely and said, "very well." She rose from her seat, wobbled around a bit, and walked with Gaara into the mansion.

"Okay, everybody! Go back to what you were doing! Nothing more to see here. And remember, if anybody knows who threw that dart, you should tell us immediately," Shizune called behind her, and the audience of Konoha citizens disassembled.

* * *

><p>*****NOOOOOOOOOOOO! LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! SAY IT AIN'T SO! SAY. IT. AIN'T. SO!<p>

Wow, you'd think I'd have more control over a story that I'M WRITING, but most real writers out there should know that the best stories write themselves.

BUT I PROMISE I'LL SAVE LEE AS SOON AS I CAN! ****!

(cough! Anyway, early update! Thanksgiving and all, you get the idea)

Oh and by the way, if anybody has any IDEAS on who the person is yet,_ don't say them_ unless u wanna spoil the story for everyone else! Though I do believe I've dropped in quite a few clues *wink wink*


	8. The Editor POV Unleashed

_Chapter Eight_

"It's every person's weakness-their _vanity," _Gaara explained, "If we can get some totally trust worthy people on our side, we can flush this person out."

Tsunade thought on it for a moment and then replied, "We _thank _them for it, and hope that they admit to doing it? I don't know, Gaara…it seems like a pretty big gamble. And we all know how _my _gambles turn out…"

Gaara turned to Sakura, "You say this person went after bait that you set? Very _obvious _bait?" Sakura nodded intently, "Well, if this Editor would fall for a huge sign practically saying 'Come shave my Eyebrows, Plz', I think we have at least a small shot with this."

Tsunade sighed, "All right, but then there's another problem-how do we _know _who's trustworthy?"

"I think we should get everybody who's actually _been _changed; I mean they wouldn't do it on _themselves _would they?" Sakura said gingerly. Tsunade thought on her student's words.

"It would be _very _easy for them to do it on themselves and make it look real, and it would be an obvious way to throw the blame off them…so I don't know. We need to think about this, we can't just rush in."

* * *

><p><em>Snip, snip, snip. <em>Have I gone too far?

_Snip, snip, snip. _I mean, I almost injured Lee fatally today; I never wanted to _hurt _anyone.

_Snip, snip, snip. _And now there's some plan to get rid of me…why was I so dumb as to fall for that sign? That Sakura…she's cunning. I have to admit it.

The Editor looked down at the sleeping face of Neji Hyuuga, and watched her hands cut his hair to normal length. She had injected him with sleeping drugs, as she had done with everyone she had changed. It was simple enough to steal a large amount from the Konoha Hospital.

_Snip, snip, snip. _Maybe I should just stop.

_Snip, snip, snip. _I don't want to hurt anyone like that…

_Snip, snip, snip. _I would't…

Suddenly the Editor heard voices from outside. She moved to the window of the Hyuuga household, and looked down.

"That stupid Editor! I bet that he's just some idiot who thinks he's _all that _just because he pranked a couple ninja!" It was a few village kids, not Shinobi.

Snipping one last time on the young Hyuuga boy's hair, the Editor leapt down from the window.

"An idiot? A _male _idiot?" She said tersely, "I think you should drop that idea, but it's your choice. And I do believe that I 'pranked' more than _a few _ninja. Oh well, I hate to leave you, my most _adoring _fans, but I have to run…sleep well."

With that, the Editor jumped off, leaving the kids to stand in trauma and fresh information. She sighed.

_I could never stop this…It's far too much fun._

* * *

><p>Sakura looked down at Lee. The hospital was empty, but she had stayed behind as everyone else left. Sakura knew it was her fault that Lee had been hurt, after all, if she had never dragged him into the plan in the first place, he wouldn't have figured out who the Editor was, and wouldn't have been knocked out.<p>

Sakura's mind wandered back to the night again. She remembered noticing how the Editor wasn't using any recognizable jutsu, and yet her fighting seemed so familiar…For the hundredth time, Sakura tried to remember where she had encountered this fighting before, but it just wouldn't come to her.

Sakura stood up, prepared to leave, when she heard a ruckus in the hallway. It sounded like somebody was running around…calling _her _name.

"_Sakura!" _cried the all too familiar voice.

Sighing, Sakura left Lee's room and went searching for Naruto. He wasn't hard to spot, even though he didn't have his standard orange jumpsuit anymore.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sakura snapped. He ran over to her and began talking in a fast, incomprehensible voice. "Wha…speak slower."

Naruto took a deep breath and spoke more understandably, "The Editor confronted some kids, over near Neji and Hinata's house! And get this, the Editor's a _girl!"_

After Naruto said the last part, Sakura smacked him in the jaw, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO SOUND SO SURPRISED!" Then after a second, she added, "Are the kids okay?"

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura! Please don't hit me!" He stood up and continued on, "Yea, the kids are fine, they're just crying. So anyway, the Editor is a girl and she cut Neji's hair…" Naruto snickered a bit after saying the last few words and Sakura, of course, punched him again.

"Anyway, I already figured that she was a girl…I thought everyone knew that?" Sakura replied casually.

"How did you know?" Naruto said in awe.

"Well…a little kid told me…" Sakura thought back to the little girl she had seen on the street before she had gone to the gathering. The girl had repeatedly called the Editor "_her_".

Naruto laughed, "That's stupid! How could a little kid know inside information about a criminal…unless…" Naruto's eyes grew wide, "Sakura! Maybe the kid _knows _the Editor! Did you know who the kid was?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, understanding his thinking, "I…no, I don't know who it was…but she looked kind of familiar. Maybe I've seen her before at some point."

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off when a Jonin came crashing down the hall. It was Aoba, and he looked very out of breath.

"We have to evacuate the patients! _Now!" _he cried.

"What? Why?" Sakura replied quickly.

"The Akatsuki are here in the Village!" Aoba exclaimed frantically, "And they're headed _this way!"_

* * *

><p><em>*****WHOOOOO!<em> AKATSUKI TIME, WHO'S WITH MEH! heehee, okay. So first order of business in my mindless rambling: I'm now officially making my update day WEDNESDAY BECAUSE I'M AWESOME LIKE THAT! so look out for wednesday, 'tis a fun day. Second, I'm trying to decide whether or not to end this story soon or later. It's really fun to write, but it seems with each chapter its becomeing less and less of the "adorible li'l fanficcy" i wanted originally, and actually developing *shudders* A PLOT LINE! See, i have issues where if i work on something to intently, it loses a lot of its characteristic humor that I love! What do u guys think? Is the story getting better, worse, or the same? And further more, is it holding ur attention? Feel free to drop any fun ideas on me, im always open to that! (btw, im gonna try to get all the characters in the whole series into this story in some way, so make sure i dont forget anyone by goin' "dont forget *blah blah insert random fan talk here*" and I'll make sure i put them in. Wow, this is an annoyingly long commentary...

Im done naow.

Thanks! Plz reveiw awesome peoples! :3


	9. Akatsuki Time

_Chapter Nine_

"We need all the help we can get," Sakura shouted over the rustle and bustle below her, "everyone needs to give a hand!"

Ninja from all over Konoha were swarming into the Leaf Hospital to help get the patients to safety. Sakura heard screams of "how did they get in" and "what will we do" below her, but tried to tune it out and stay calm. Panicking wouldn't help her, and it certainly wouldn't help the patients she was in charge of. However, there was one thing she could do…

Sakura noticed instantly when the hospital had cleared out, and she decided that she should go find the Akatsuki. She had dealt with them before, and knew that she would be one of the most qualified people in the entire village to go check up on the problem. Plus, they might need her healing jutsu if anybody got hurt.

Sakura listened for any noises, but heard none. Unhappy, she picked and guessed a random direction, and took a chance.

* * *

><p>"Ha! Would you look at this…nobody to greet us?" Deidara cackled, "how rude…" He turned to Sasori, hoping for some kind of reaction, and when there was none, turned to his other cohorts: Kisame and Itachi.<p>

"Please shut up, your voice irritates me…" Kisame growled. Itachi made no comment at all, as he usually did.

"Honestly, Deidara. You talk too much. I dislike noise; silence is much more _eternal," _Sasori commented in an agitated tone of voice.

"Ugh, _enough _with the 'art is eternal beauty' crap!" Deidara moaned, "After all, we all know that it's an _explosion, _hmmm?"

Sasori snorted noticeably and replied in that all-too-amazing way of his, "True art _is _eternal beauty; it withstands the test of time with beauty and grace…"

"True art is an _explosion!_" Deidara replied angrily, "it blooms for only a second before withering away…"

"Shut up!" Kisame ordered, "You're both giving me a headache." Itachi simply blinked in reply to his partner, never once stopping in his movement. Sasori and Deidara made a huffy face and deliberately turned in opposite directions with their arms crossed. Kisame smirked at their immature behavior.

Suddenly, a group of Jonin leapt in front of the Akatsuki members. Deidara let a big smile take over his face and cried, "time…for some _art!" _The blonde haired artist then pulled out a ball of explosive clay and put it into his hand, in which he shaped it masterfully. However, before he was ready to throw it, Sasori stepped in front of him.

"Art _indeed…_" he said in an amused tone of voice. He was obviously confident that _he _would be the one to make art of the Shinobi. Deidara pounced on his Senpai, but Sasori rolled out of the way. The Jonin all stared at the…well, it could only be described as a _cat fight _between the two ridiculously powerful Shinobi before them. Kisame looked practically purple (being blue as is, red blushing would make him purple), and Itachi- had he been capable of showing emotion- would have made a horrified face from the embarrassment.

"Those fools…" Kisame muttered, and before either of them could say anything, attacked the ninjas before him. The second his sword collided with flesh, both Deidara and Sasori turned and screamed, "those were mine!"

However Kisame was oblivious to their protests. The blond and the ginger untangled themselves from each other and ran towards the skirmish, which Itachi had already joined. Unfortunately, it was over in less than two minutes, the Jonin all being killed.

"Well that wasn't as much fun as I thought it would be…" Deidara grumbled, "I didn't even get to blow anything up…"

"Nor did I make anything eternal…" Sasori sighed. Kisame rolled his eyes and they continued walking.

It was obvious then that the village had been evacuated. Nobody was standing around, the streets were absolutely bare, and all the shops looked as if they had been boarded up in a rush. The Akatsuki members looked around in annoyance, knowing that it would be much more work to find the Nine-Tailed brat with all the Village on high alert of their presence. He wouldn't be stupid enough to stick around, since obviously _he _was their target.

"Hey! You guy's had better get the hell outta here!"

But then again, the kid had never been known for his intelligence.

Naruto stood a few yards away with his arms crossed in contempt. Deidara and Kisame practically burst out laughing. He looked like he expected to be able to _defeat _them or something!

"Look, I admire your courage (or your stupidity, whichever came to play in this plan of yours)," Deidara choked out between laughs, "but do you really expect to take us on, three against one? I mean _come on! _At least put up a fight; bring along some friends, for God's sake!"

Naruto growled, and charged at them, "_I'll make you eat those words!" _He screamed, forming a Rasengan as he ran.

"So, blunt force, eh?" Sasori smirked, "You'll have to be a tad more deceptive if you hope to beat even _one _of us…"

"You say that like he _could, _hmmm?" Deidara snickered, leaping out of the way of the jutsu, "no matter what he tries, it'll end up the same: with this brat dead and the Kyuubi in our possession."

After the Rasengan faded, Kisame hit Naruto with the butt of his sword, only to discover that it was a log.

Kisame growled with irritation. He turned on a whim, expecting to the brat charging at him, but was surprised when there was nothing. Then from behind he felt a burning pain strike his back with incredible force.

"_Rasengan!"_ Naruto screeched as he delved the sphere into the Akatsuki's spine. He knew it was effective as Kisame choked blood up, and he smiled determinedly.

"Hmm, impressive tactic from somebody so dull…" Itachi said in a monotone, "transforming into a log to fool us into thinking it was a substitution, then attacking from behind. A commonly used tactic, but…" he looked to his partner, "you underestimated your opponent, Kisame…"

"_No, really? _I hadn't noticed!" Kisame replied, spitting sarcasm along with blood. Deidara laughed at his teammates misfortune, and was caught off-guard when the Jinchuriki turned to him next and flew at him with yet another Rasengan. Deidara, being Deidara, dodged immediately, and countered with some 'splody birdies.

Sasori, standing on the sidelines, too lazy to get involved in a battle that didn't include him making art from the opponent, stated simply to Deidara, "you almost got hit."

"_You think I don't know that?" _Deidara screeched back. He attacked Naruto rapidly then, his anger fueling his attacks.

"Careful, Kohai, we don't want to kill him…" Sasori said bluntly from the sidelines again.

"Shut up! I know what I'm _doing!" _Deidara hissed, sending more and still _more _birds flying at the Nine-Tailed brat. Sasori sighed, and decided not to comment anymore. He was content watching the fight until it was absolutelynecessary to join in.

Then, something unexpected happened:

"_Mah Dogggggy!" _Shikamaru cried cheerfully dashing in front of the fight. Akamaru was running from the hyper-lazy boy, a look of dog horror on his face. Behind Shikamaru ran Kiba, who still had the collar on. It was shocking him constantly, since he was out of his boundaries.

"Shika-OW maru-OW!" the shock collar shocked him incessantly as he ran, "what the-OW hell are you-OW doing to my-OW dog!"

"EEEEEEE! Ima geddit!" cried the deer boy, skipping as he chased the poor inu.

"That was…disturbing." stated Sasori bluntly. Naruto was looking at his fellow ninja with a look of distain on his face.

Deidara was the one that took advantage of his distraction.

"_Katsu!" _He cried, a barrage of clay birds zooming at Naruto all at once. Naruto had no time to turn around, let alone dodge and he knew it was all over.

Yet the wind struck his face, and a heated explosion was obvious from behind him. Naruto opened his eyes to see that he was in somebody's grasp and that he was in movement through the air. Somebody had saved him.

Naruto's mysterious savior let him down atop a building. He looked up at their face, and his mouth slacked a bit. It was the Editor, no doubt about it. The hood, the mysterious aura, it was her.

"Are you okay?" She asked and Naruto immediately recognized the voice.

"Y…_you're _the Editor?" he cried out in astonishment. She put down her hood for a moment, confirming Naruto's suspicion, then pulled it back up, "But…_why?"_

She sighed, obviously conflicted.

"When I started, I don't know what I was thinking. But I'm never doing it again- you hear me? I'm _through." _She looked down at Naruto and a pleading tone came into her voice, "please don't tell anyone it was me, I _swear _I'll never do it again, but this could ruin me…please Naruto…"

Naruto made no expression for a few moments, and then half-smiled.

"Sure thing, I guess it makes up for you saving my life," Naruto said weakly, still shocked at his discovery, "but if you _do _ever do it again?"

"…you can tell _anyone," _she replied, thankful that he would keep her secret, "Now, I have an obligation to fulfill."

The Akatsuki stood in the middle of the path, looking around in bewilderment. They hadn't even seen the person show up, let alone where they went. It was a blur.

"What are you going to do? They're unbelievably strong…" Naruto said, obviously doubting the Editors abilities.

"It's my fault their here, if Konoha hadn't been weakened by me, they wouldn't have the nerve to come so bluntly…I have to help you Naruto…" He heard a smirk emerge in her voice as she pulled out a pair of scissors and a paint brush, "…in the best way I can."

Naruto looked confused for a second, "so you're going to edit…oohhhhh."

* * *

><p>*****THE AKATSUKI ARE FINALLY HERE GUYS! Im proud to say this is the longest chapter yet, therefore i will now party *partys*<p>

okay, im done! So, what'd you guys think? Any ideas who the editor is? eehhh? lool okay, well, I promise Lee shall be coming back very soon, and I will also bring even more of the Akatsuki. I think it's obvious, but I LOVE Deidara and Sasori's art arguments! ITS SO FUNNY! Expect a lot more of that :P

By the way, nobody is dead in this lol. Everyone's alive, because it's just more fun that way. MWAHAHA!

Okay, by the way again, I want you all to know that reading the reviews you guys write makes my day! I get so happy when i sign into gmail and it says "4 reveiws for Editing Youth" or whatever! It makes me really like to write this story, so keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing! Dont even be afraid to throw sme ideas out, more than likely ill be glad to use them lolol.

Anyway, bye till next wednesday!


	10. Sakura Arrives

_Chapter Ten_

"Well, it looks like our little 'hero' has run off…" Kisame said in an annoyed tone of voice after waiting for a few minutes. He knew that this would make _more _work just to find him and subdue him _again._

Fortunately, the shark-man had overestimated Naruto's intelligence level once again, and he almost burst out laughing as the orange brat jumped back on the scene.

"Oh, so you didn't run away?" Kisame asked in a mocking tone, "_how unfortunate…" _And he charged at the Jinchuriki, sword outstretched. Naruto simply stood his ground, unwavering in his resolve. Kisame figured there was something fishy (no pun intended) but didn't think enough of Naruto to stop and think.

That was when, suddenly a liquid splashed against the Akatsuki member's face.

"Eyuu…what the…?" Kisame swirled around to see what was going on, but nobody was in sight. He felt the substance that was dripping over his entire body and realized that it was peach colored paint.

"We should probably do something about that _blue skin _of yours, wouldn't you agree?"

The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere, and Kisame became utterly confused. "What in the genjutsu?..."

As Kisame looked down at himself with a horrified expression, Naruto kicked him in the chin, sending him flying.

"That idiot…" Deidara scoffed, running towards the Jinchuriki. Naruto made ten shadow clones and fought back, but Deidara- being far more experienced than Naruto- dodged them all and managed to hit one of the clones with an explosive bird.

Deidara cursed as it disappeared with a puff of smoke, and looked around for the real one.

Suddenly, there was a sensation of weight loss on the back of his head. Deidara looked around dazed for a moment before feeling for his pony tail. Unfortunately for him- and everyone else- it was gone.

"_M-my beautiful haaiiirr!" _Deidara screeched, and began to turn red. Then, when he thought it couldn't get any worse, a hooded figure blurred past him, snipping off his bangs as they ran.

Let's just say, if emotionless, stony _Sai_ had been listening to the scream that Deidara made, _he _would have broken down in terror.

But Naruto saw his chance, and Rasengan'd the poor hairless Akatsuki member several yard away into a building. This was the moment that Sasori and Itachi, who hadn't really put themselves in the thick of the fight, decided they should step in.

Wanting to conserve his eyes for more important battles, Itachi didn't switch to Mangekko Sharingan right away. Likewise, Sasori was only using Hiruko to battle.

The Editor swooped next to Naruto, a worry in her mind.

"Naruto…the other two were different," she said in a serious tone, "these guys seem a lot more serious- I don't know if I can distract them…"

Naruto's eyes widened, "but…what do we d-"

"_CHAAAAA!"_

A pink blur flew past the two Shinobi and landed powerfully on the Puppet's back. Sakura had arrived.

The pink haired Kunoichi had used her monster strength with the kick, and Hiruko cracked open. The (other) Suna ginger stood between the two halves of his once beautiful puppet, his eyes wide with anger and disbelief.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried happily as the Tsunade's pupil landed in front of him. She had her hands on her hips, and she looked utterly pissed.

"I can't leave you alone for ten minutes!" she snapped at her blond friend. Naruto looked taken aback and practically _frightened _by Sakura's tone, and she sighed. "Okay, okay. Let's just kill these guys okay? I have a bunch of patients and they need to get back to the hospital ASAP." That was when Sakura noticed the hooded figure that stood only a few feet beyond Naruto. It had to be the Editor. "Y-you!" Sakura cried angrily. She took a step towards the Editor, and Naruto stopped her.

"Sakura, no! She promised to stop, but don't try to see who she is! She promised she'd stop!" Sakura was surprised to see Naruto pleading. She pondered his words for a moment before sighing.

"Alright," She caved. Then, she composed herself and continued, "Now lets kick some Akatsuki butt…"

* * *

><p>*****AHHH! IM SORRY! I missed yesterday because of some junk I had going on, but i posted today (do u people forgive me :(?)<p>

Anyway, I didn't read over this chapter before I posted, so I hope it's okay. Good news: Lee's coming back next chapter NO MATTER WHAT! The Editor...I'm getting a little fuzzy on her. I'm trying to make a great build-up to who she is, but, you know. It may not be as _shocking _as I'm hoping for.

Anyway, R&R so i can feel special, and enjoy!


	11. Rock Lee Returns

_I. Am. SORRY! Okay, so over Christmas break, I had about a million pounds of homework. Why? We have final exams now that school is back in. I had NO time to write. But now that break is over, rest assured. I'm back, and I'm ready to GOGOGO! BTW, enjoy the 'special surprise' at the end :P_

_Chapter Eleven_

Sasori and Itachi barely blinked as the pink haired girl showed up. There was no way she could be strong enough to defeat them. Anyway, they just wanted the Jinchuriki; anybody else was nothing but a nuisance.

The Editor suddenly disappeared, and the two Akatsuki narrowed their eyes. However, they made no effort to follow her. Naruto and Sakura moved to their fighting stances in case Itachi or Sasori attacked.

Nobody moved…

* * *

><p>It was dark. The boy sat up, wondering what was going on. He had heard noises, and felt himself being moved. The grass beneath him was soft and cold. He looked around for somebody to tell him what was going on.<p>

"Well this is interesting, you weren't supposed to wake up for another week at least."

The boy turned to where the voice was coming from. It was a blonde woman who looked about twenty or thirty.

"Why are you staring like that? Don't tell me your memory's faltering, Lee."

As soon as Tsunade said his name, Lee remembered everything. The Editor, Sakura, the poison, Sakura…_Sakura!_

Lee leapt to his feet, "Tsunade-sama! Where is Sakura?"

"You shouldn't be moving! Sit back down!" Tsunade snapped, pushing the Shinobi back to the ground. Lee pushed her hand away.

"I mean no disrespect, Lady Hokage," Lee cried, "But I cannot rest. Please, tell me what has happened to…"

"…to fight the Akatsuki?" A conversation from a nearby group drifted over to Lee and Tsunade, "Yeah! Sakura Haruno!"

Lee took a sharp intake of breath and began to run off. "Lee! Get back here!" Tsunade cried, but Lee was so freaking fast that the alcohol deprived Hokage simply flicked her wrist and mumbled, "Whatever…"

* * *

><p>"What should we do, Itachi," Sasori said in an undertone, "They obviously are planning something…"<p>

Itachi did not reply but Sasori saw him turn on his Sharingan. "She's th-" But the Uchiha was cut off as the Editor sprang at his face. In an instant she pulled out an eraser, and moved it towards his face.

"No…no…" Itachi cried, holding back her hand. She was going for his eye lines.

Sasori, genuinely curious, did not make any movement to pull the Editor off his teammate. This could be the honest answer to the question everybody had had for years…

"Yeaaa!" The Editor took one last push forward and the eraser touched the Itachi's face. He screamed as she began to rub.

"I….I _knew it!" _Sasori cried as the lines faded away. Itachi began to show actual displays of horror on his face.

"My _lines! You killed them!"_ Sasori snorted but stopped as Itachi glared at him, his Mangekko Sharingan on.

When the two Akatsuki looked back, they were surprised to see that another Shinobi had showed up. He wore a green jumpsuit, and his hair was in the shape of a bowl.

"Lee!" Sakura cried in disbelief.

* * *

><p>"Sasuke? What are you doing?"<p>

The raven-haired boy stopped at the sound of his name and turned to see Orochimaru in a night-gown with his pet Teddy Snake.

"I'm leaving." Sasuke said.

"Leaving?" The Sannin blinked, "but it's way past your bedtime!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and kept moving, but Orochimaru hissed, "Don't you ignore your master!"

Sasuke, faster than the lighting he wields, brought his sword to Orochimaru's throat. Without even turning around, he said, "Let's get a few things straight…nobody is my master. I am going to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I've received Intel that they're being invaded by the Akatsuki. With any luck, Itachi will be there…"

Orochimaru snarled as the sword was removed from his throat, "You dare try to kill me? I gave you all of your power…"

But Sasuke turned and stared at the Sannin with his dark, emotionless eyes and he was quiet. "You're free to come with me…if you'd like."

Orochimaru looked angry, but nodded, "Yes, I think I will…perhaps a nice reminiscing journey will calm my nerves…_Kabuto!"_

An instant later, the white-haired Shinobi popped up. "Yes, lord Orochimaru? Anything you want? Some scrolls? A healing job? A prisoner? A cookie?" Orochimaru waved his hand.

"None of those- you are to accompany Sasuke and me to Konohagakure…and would you please gather together Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo? I think they might come in handy…"

Sasuke's eyes widened the smallest bit, but he said nothing.

Kabuto bowed, "Right away, my lord."

* * *

><p>*****HAHAHAHA! So, Sasuke, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin...this is gonna be FUN! Now i just have...about a million more characters to do XD<p>

BUT LEE. IS. BACK! BE GRATEFUL ALL YOU AMAZING PEOPLE :D


	12. Sasuke Decides to Show his Face

_Chapter Twelve_

All four of them knew that the fight was not over. Deidara was gathering his hair off the ground, his face hard and cold, Kisame was looking from water, and Itachi had out a pen and a mirror, trying to reapply his lines.

Only Sasori stood ready to fight. His pinkish eyes glinted and he was gone. Suddenly there was a voice behind the group.

"I must admit, I'll be quite a bit below my usual standards without Hiruko, but I think I'll fair alright…"

Naruto felt the wind knocked out of him from behind, and Sasori was gone again. At this point, Deidara had shaken away his hair grief, Itachi had drawn back his lines, and Kisame had managed to find a small pool to wash off in. The Akatsuki stood together once again, ready to fight.

Deidara flashed a ball of clay out of his puch and molded it mockingly in his hands, Itachi…blinked…it was actually very terrifying, and Kisame nibbled the air, glinting his sharp teeth.

The Editor cursed quietly from under her hood as she saw that her handiwork was only a temporary fix. She jumped off, where to nobody was sure.

This time, the Akatsuki looked maximally alert. They all held Kunai and looked like they were expecting the cloaked girl to come out of nowhere.

But she didn't come.

* * *

><p>'How could I be such an idiot? I'm no match for the Akatsuki!'<p>

The Editor jumped from building to building, running away from the battle. It was odd; anybody who knew her would know that she wasn't the type to run away. Even when she was faced with the utmost adversity, she would always stand and fight. However, guilt was gnawing away at her entire being. In other words, she had lost it.

'Naruto can do it, Sakura can do it…hell, even _bushy brow _can do it! But there's no way on freaking _Earth_ that _I _could fight an Akatsuki…Why am I so stup—'

The Editor felt the collision of a body against her own and almost fell off the roof.

Shaking her head, the Editor stood up and looked straight into the face of the man she had run into.

She looked straight into the face of Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

><p>Naruto was down. Not forever, or course, but Sasori had managed to connect the hit right on a pressure point, and he was out cold. Sakura and Lee tried not to panic. They were two against four, not to mention way out of their league, but they tried to stay calm.<p>

"Hmm.." Deidara sighed contently, "finally done…now," he looked straight into the faces of Sakura and Lee, "are you two going to let us take this boy, or are we going to have to kill you?"

Sakura balled up her fists, her teeth clenched, "You take Naruto, it'll be over my dead body…"

Lee stood in a fighting pose with a similar look in his eye, "that goes for me as well!" he cried.

Kisame looked happy, "Looks like we get a bit of fun!" And they charged.

* * *

><p>*****WHOOP! Another fun -filled week! AKA TESTING! Yaaaay! Not.<p>

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this pitifully short chapter. Sasuke...has arrived *long gasp* I shall have lots of sexy fun with this :D

Also, The Editor is a bit cuckoo right now, so even if she's really a pretty...normal...person on the average day, now shes crazy XD WHOOT! GO INSAITY! If you can't tell i need sleep :P Also if you cant tell, I ttoally showed favoritism towards Sasori...heheh...

ANYWAY, G'NIGHT EVERYONE! I HOPE I ACTUALLY GET REVIEWS THIS WEEK INSTEAD OF STARING HEARTBROKEN AT MY INBOX FOR 7 DAYS :D REVIEW. I BEG YOU. I NEED IT. IM AN ATTENTION-STARVED PERSON WHO ALWAYS WANTS TO HEAR HOW AMAZING SHE IS (no, im kiddin. still review though XD)

Anyway, still open for suggestions on how the story shall go...so yup. Bye. This is all...i'm done for the night...

BAIIII!


	13. Birdy

_Chapter Thirteen_

"S…S…"

"…" The boy stared down into the face of the Editor. He made no noise, and his face contained zero emotion. The Editor felt her heart beat fast in her chest. Sasuke had been gone for so long, but now he was back.

Sighing, the boy said, "If all you're going to do is stutter at me, I have better things to do. You're such an annoyance."

The Editor felt her fury rise. Even if he was Sasuke, nobody could talk to her that way. Especially not when she was in her crazy, 'I-keel-yew' state of mind. Sasuke blinked in a bored way and spoke again.

"Well? You might as well tell me where Naruto is. It'll save you a lot of trouble. A lot of trouble that you don't want, and I don't particularly feel like giving."

The Editor clenched her fists and smiled. She might have ditched out on Naruto…but she might still be able to help him.

The hooded girl put on her best act and stuttered as she spoke. "N-Naruto is o-over that way…" she pointed in the opposite direction of the blonde ninja boy, "I was j-just running to help him…" Sasuke blinked and began to go off in the other direction. The direction that the Editor had pointed _away _from.

"W-wait! I said the other way dammit!" She cried, running after him. Sasuke didn't even turn his head, he just spoke.

"I do have ways of seeing if you're telling the truth…" he said solemnly, and the Editor growled to herself. Why couldn't see have been smart enough to think of that?

The Editor continued to follow until she heard a small sigh come from Sasuke, and saw him make a signal with his right hand into the trees. Two seconds later, the Editor was knocked back to the ground, and she saw six figures rush off towards Naruto.

* * *

><p>Lee and Sakura knew they were in a pickle. Four top-notch Akatsuki members stood in front of them, their faces practically <em>bored <em>with the situation. They both knew deep down that there was no chance of beating them, but they had to try.

Lee flashed Sakura a nice guy pose and a confident look, "Do not worry, Sakura-san!

Sakura really envied Lee for his confidence; she wished that she could be more like it…But that couldn't be helped. The two braced themselves and tried to look as brave as they could.

But the Akatsuki were already on the move. Sasori had pulled out some new puppets, Deidara was in the air on his birdie, Itachi was forming hand seals for his fireball jutsu, and Kisame was making bitey motions with his teeth.

Sakura cursed in her mind.

"BIRDY!"

Everybody turned to see a hyped up boy with a pineapple hairdo standing a feet yards away. Shikamaru Nara looked in awe at Dei's clay masterpiece.

"_Birdy!_" He cried again, beginning to skip merrily towards it.

"_Shikamaru stay away!_" Sakura cried as the Shinobi boy jumped right up and grabbed the bottom of the bird.

"_Hey, _let go, _hmmmm?" _Deidara screeched shaking the bird all over the place. However, Shika stayed on. Deidara fumed loudly at his partner, "_Sasori, my man! Get this freaking kid off me, un!" _

Sasori had a wide grin on his face as he sent a puppet up to knock the hyper ninja off.

"_Nuuuuu!" _The Nara boy cried as he landed on the ground, "Mah bird!"

"_What do you mean _your _bird, hmmm?" _Deidara snapped angrily. He was about to gleefully drop a C3 on the boy, when a few dozen other voices were audible.

"I can hear them over here!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I hear them too! Come on guys!"

"Faster, they're definitely up ahead."

"Where's Shikamaru?"

All of the Akatsuki had thoroughly irritated and slightly nervous expressions on their faces as practically the entire Shinobi force of the Hidden Leaf Village made their way into the fight zone. Itachi, Deidara, Sasori and Kisame exchanged glances and transmitted a signal.

_'Leader-sama…we might need those reinforcements…'_

* * *

><p><em> "<em>Sasuke…" Orochimaru said quietly, "You know that hooded one is following us?"

The Uchiha boy replied without even turning his head, "I knew her back when I was younger; she's not a threat in the least…"

The snake man nodded, "I trust your opinion, but is it wise to allow her to-"

"It's fine, ignore her. I can hear a battle up ahead." Sasuke was extremely blunt, and emotionless, and Orochimaru sighed.

"All right, let's get there already…The sooner we do that, the sooner we get back _hoommee!_"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and took his last jump. Smack in between the Akatsuki and the Villagers. He heard two things, one coming from each side.

"Sasuke…"

"Little Brother."

* * *

><p>*****HYPER SHIKA IS FREAKING BACK AND HE IS OMGHSHDJSLDNDK<p>

Okay sorry, I'm going to do something now I havn't ever done before: Let the _characters _talk to you!

Lee: Really? We get an input for once!

Ireni: Thats right! Now say whatever you think about this story!

Sakura: Sasuke's back...

Sasuke: Hmph...

Sakura: *pout and chibi face*

Lee: YOSH!

Ireni: INPUT ON THE STORY DANGIT!

All: Its really dumb! Why would you put us through this!

Shikamaru: NUUU THIS IS FUUUNNNN!

Ireni: *hugs Shika* I knew u luvved it! ^^

Okay, so yup! I need more reviews, because i need it to pay for coffe for Shikamaru at the FFN Canteen... hes starting to lose his rush DX Please, help him. Review :D


	14. Sasori and Deidara

_Chapter Fourteen_

If you had been a bird, soaring high in the sky, looking down over the streets of the village Konohagakure, you would have seen many interesting things.

First, you would have seen three groups of people. One group was exponentially larger than the other two, one group was wearing identical cloaks, and one group stood in the middle, looking back and forth.

The group in the middle mainly consisted of a certain Sasuke Uchiha, and if you were a bird, you would be thinking: "That busu is screeewwweeddd…"

However, on the ground things were much different.

Both groups were glaring at the Uchiha boy in horror and shock, most of the people too afraid to move. They knew the stories about this boy.

A blond haired kid in an orange jumpsuit was passed out in front of the largest group, and was being aided by a pink haired girl. Standing in front of them was a boy in a green suit and a figure in a black cloak. They looked ready to protect the people behind them at all costs, but also thoroughly horrified at their formers friend's sudden return.

On the other side, the four men in black cloaks were looking quite curious, but with an obvious twinge of irritation.

And smack dab in the middle, stood Sasuke; his eyes trained only on one person.

"Itachi Uchiha…"

* * *

><p>Sasuke stepped towards Itachi with his knuckles clenched around his katana and his eyes totally emotionless. The other Uchiha stared back, his expression as blank as his brothers.<p>

"Sasuke…" Itachi stated, "This is neither the time nor place. I can already tell you aren't strong enough, anyway."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at this statement, but he didn't stop his slow lethal movement's forwards.

Itachi looked past his brother and stated, "I would suggest none of you move, unless you intend to die."

All of the Konoha ninja were frozen in shock. Even the Jonin seemed to be hesitating, and the only people that were able to think were the three in front.

Lee turned to the Editor with a knowing look on his face, "I don't think traditional fighting would be useful in this situation…" The Editor lowered her head and nodded. A moment later she was gone. Lee smiled knowingly, and waited.

* * *

><p>"Sasori my man, did you see that, hmm?" Deidara asked, grinning slightly.<p>

"I did." Sasori replied.

"Whatever shall we do?" The blonde smirked, feigning fear.

Sasori rolled his eyes, "stop acting stupid and come on."

Deidara shrugged, "whatever you say."

And a moment later the two were gone.

* * *

><p><em>Sasuke time, let's see…what can I change… <em>The Editor looked down at the crowd and smirked a bit, _of course…_

Sasuke was now only a short distance from Itachi. The murderous look in his eye was blazing in hatred, but the other Uchiha was unmoved. He could tell Sasuke was moving slowly to see if he would do anything to stop him. He knew what Itachi was capable of.

_Let's see, do I have any on me- AAGGGUUUHH! _The Editor was thrown back, landing hard on the rooftop of a building, shingles flying off. She choked up blood, but wiped it away.

"What? Who hit me?" she searched the air as quickly as possible, and noticed instantly the giant white bird-like thing floating about 20 feet away. On it was Deidara, grinning like a mad-man.

"So, you're the one who ruined my beautiful hair, hmm?" the pyromaniac rubbed at the nub left. He looked positively blood-thirsty. "Unfortunately, that is a crime I cannot let slide…"

Suddenly, another figure jumped onto the roof that the Editor had landed on. This time is was Sasori, "It will take quite some time to fix Hiruko…" he said in a soft voice, moving closer to the Editor by the second, "Why would you do that?"

The Editor's heart was racing; she had to get to Sasuke before all Hell broke loose.

However, the two Akatsuki closing in were making it difficult.

That was when she lost it.

Deidara threw a C3, but she was already gone, closing in behind them. Standing on top of Deidara's bird. "Why hello there!" She chirped murderously, "how are _you _doing?"

"Kuso…!" the blonde cried, circling around, trying to knock her off, but she was already so close, that it was easy to quickly smear the eyeliner that neatly hugged his eyelids. Once it was a success, the Editor cleanly jumped off of the bird and landed on top of the roof again. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Deidara take a head-dive for the ground.

"_My eyes!" _

Sasori watched his partner hit the ground and frowned, looking the Editor straight in her eye. Hiruko had broken because of her, so all that was left was a young-looking red-head man who looked on the verge on an irritated sigh. It was painfully obvious that he wasn't the type to be thrown off by something simple like a haircut, and the Editor racked her brain in thought.

"Finding a good partner is difficult, I'll have you know…" he spoke, "I don't exactly appreciate what you're doing to mine." He didn't even move, but suddenly a figure came flying up from behind him, and the Editor gasped as she realized it was a puppet.

"Third Kazekage…" the ginger said with a smile, "Iron sand."

* * *

><p>I cannot even express my hatred for myself XD<p>

Writers block is an evil creature that thrives from foot fungus.

ITS BEEN MONTHS, AND I AM SO FREAKING SORRY, I WANT TO COME TO EVERY ONE OF YOU'S HOUSE AND GIVE YOU FLOWERS 3

Anyway, heres the...er...greatly anticipated (?) chapter 14 XD

Have fun 3 and LILLY, IM SORRY FOR THE SASORI-FAVORITISM, GEEZ!


	15. Individual Edits Part 1

**_INDIVIDUAL STORIES OF EDITATION_**

Naruto:

_Ahhh,_ _time for another day of being a ninja, BELIEVE IT! _Naruto pounced out of bed and ran towards his closet to change into his "beautiful" orange jumpsuit. He opened the door, and stared in…then, two full minutes later realized that there was not a _speck _of orange anywhere.

"Wh-What the heck!" Naruto cried in anger and disbelief. He shoveled through his clothes, searching desperately for his "gorgeous" attire, but couldn't find _any. _The only thing that the he saw was a bunch of brownish-colored shirts, and navy blue pants like Kakashi's. Not knowing what to do, Naruto pulled on the outfit and ran outside to find the culprit.

However, as Naruto walked up to somebody and asked, he quickly realized that _nobody _recognized him. Not even his friends; he had to _tell _Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, and everybody else that it was him. The only person that seemed to recognize him was Hinata. Isn't _that _weird?

Kakashi:

Kakashi was sleeping while it happened, he was sure about that. The book had been sitting right beside his bed when he crashed. Now Kakashi was wide awake and his book was nowhere to be found.

"N-now don't panic, Kakashi…" He told himself shakily, "Y-you must have just misplaced…_MY BOOK IS GOOONNNEEE!"_

The Jonin then broke down and cried on the floor. He crawled out the front door and onto the street, wondering where it could be. He _couldn't _believe he would never see it again.

"Kakashi…sensei?"

Kakashi stared right into the face of his student, Sakura. Her face looked like a mixture of shock, disgust, and "wtf"-ness.

"She's…gone…" and with those whispered words, the highly respected Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, curled into a fetal position and whimpered to sleep.

Choji:

_Ahh…time to wake up and get some breakfast! _Choji sat up quickly from his sleeping position at the thought of food, and moved to get up, when he realized he couldn't. He was in some kind of box.

At first, the Akamichi boy was more confused than worried. After all, who would do something like stuffing him in a box? That was just ridiculous! But soon the realization of what could be going on set in.

What if he had been buried alive? Would suffocation kill him quickly, or would he starve first? What if he'd been captured by an enemy ninja village as a hostage? What would…what would happen to him?

His eyes darted around in the dark, looking for any clue as to the way out, but he saw none. He started to scream, but the noise just echoed back and deafened him. He pounded on the sides of the container, but it didn't seem to help. Nobody was coming.

Frustrated with his predicament, the chubby ninja put his hands together in a seal and cried, "_Human Boulder!". _His body enlarged, squishing against the inside of the container. He felt it get very hard to breath, when he started spinning. However, he wasn't rotating _near _fast enough to break free. It was too cramped.

He shrunk back to normal size, and tried to punch his way out, but the box was made of something weirdly strong. It reminded him of the trap that h had been in with that fat guy in the sound four guarding it.

It was being streamed with Chakra.

And this time, Choji had no way to figure out how to break free. He couldn't see well enough to use the technique used before, and he wasn't smart enough to think of another plan.

So he waited.

He would either die, or be set free.

Either way, there was nothing he could do on his own.

How pathetic…

Shikamaru:

"What a drag, that mission took forever…"

The lazy ninja walked into his house and collapsed onto his bed in exhaustion. He had a hand on his stomach, and was just drifting off to sleep when he heard a noise.

He shot out of bed, swerving to the door, but nobody was there. The unenthusiastic genius scratched his head and cautiously sat back on his bed. He knew he had heard something odd…but what…?

"Oh well…" He mumbled to himself, closing his eyes and flopping back into a laying down position on his bed, "probably just my imagination…"

But no sooner had he laid down when a blindfold came down over his eyes and a bottle of something was shoved down his throat. Before he could resist, he had choked down the entire thing.

He coughed several times, the liquid stinging his throat profusely, and then just breathed heavily. It was another couple seconds before he realized that the person holding him was gone.

Shikamaru removed his blindfold gingerly, looking around. Nobody was in his room but him. However, on the floor beside him was an empty bottle.

But as the lazy ninja bent down to inspect it, his body began to tremble uncontrollably. His eyes grew wide, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Wh-what?" he cried out, horrified by what was happening. _What had been in that drink? Poison?_

And then, he lost it.

"_Yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhh_~!" He screamed, running around his room in random circles. He had his hands in the air, and was flailing them randomly.

But after doing this for the seventy-ninth time, he realized it was getting boring, and decided to jump out the window. "_I believe I can flyyyyyyy!" _Shikamaru cried, leaping from the opening in the wall.

He fell for about 0.3 seconds before he ended up face first into the ground. From there, he stood up and ran off, screaming about nothing.

* * *

><p>***** Just a little filler to show i have not forgotten this sotry :B This is more detailed descriptions of a few people who got edited near the beginning. Im still stuck in my little emo corner of writers block, butt i am hoping that it shall get better sooooooooooooooooooooon!1111<p> 


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